Accra, May 1, Ghanadot/GNA – The Ghana
Trades Union Congress has expressed misgivings about a decision
of an Accra High Court to the effect that employers could hire
and fire without giving any reasons for the termination of
employment.
Speaking at the May Day parade, Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary
General of the GTUC, said the ruling had serious implications
for industrial relations and could undermine the consensus
reached in the various tripartite consultations that led to the
passage of the Labour Act 2003.
“We in organised Labour are of the view that the Labour Act
sought to do away with this harsh and arbitrary old common law
principle by making elaborate provisions for fair termination
which requires that valid reasons be given by employers for the
termination of employment of their employees,” he said.
Mr. Asamoah said the ruling of the High Court continues to be a
source of unrest among workers as some employers are using the
ruling as basis not only to get rid of so-called troublesome
workers and unionists but also to circumvent laid down
regulations on redundancy declaration and obligations.
Mr Asamaoh said the intention of the tripartite stakeholders was
that the new Labour law would promote peaceful and harmonious
industrial relations to the benefit of all the social partners
by doing away with the harsh and arbitrary old common law
principle.
However, he said, there appeared to be tension between the new
thinking as captured in some provisions of the legislation and
the old common law based on the sanctity of contract and the
right of the employer to fire at will.
He, therefore, called on government to ratify ILO Convention 158
as a means of promoting the healthy industrial relations climate
that the Labour Act 2003 sought to establish.
On the rights of workers, Mr Asamoah called for the strict
enforcement of the law to ensure that working people form and
join trade unions of their choice and exercise the right to
collective bargaining.
He said while the constitution and the Labour Act guarantee
these rights, some employers had resorted to various illegal
tactics to frustrate workers who want to exercise the rights.
Mr Asamoah called on government to adequately resource the
National Labour Commission to perform its functions of resolving
industrial disputes and to ensure that the Regional and District
Labour Committees were established in line with the provision of
the Labour Act.
There was also a call on government to ensure that its economic
and social policies address the widening income inequality by
bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.
On job creation, Mr Asamaoh urged government to take a second
look at the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement and the EPA
itself because of the serious implications for the creation of
productive employment.
“In our view the EPA will not only undermine the creation of
decent jobs in the domestic economy but also it will subvert our
efforts towards regional integration,” he said.
This year’s May Day Parade held on the theme: “Improved Standard
of Living through Decent Work – a Pre-requisite for Sustaining
Democratic Governance,” saw thousands of Ghanaian workers
converged at the independence square.
Most of the workers carried placards some of which read: Utility
bills not near our income, Bring Back End of Service Benefits,
Ghana Needs Right to Information Law and Civil Servants Are
Dying Slowly.
GNA
